WH Says No to Repatriation Tax Holiday

Many business executives want a tax holiday to allow them to repatriate overseas earnings at a reduced tax rate. And House Majority Leader Eric Cantor backed such a move in a speech just two days ago, The Hill reports.

But the Obama administration repeated its opposition in a Treasury Department blog, saying a repatriation holiday should only be considered as part of a comprehensive overhaul of the corporate tax code. Michael Mundaca, assistant Treasury secretary for tax policy, wrote in the blog that a repatriation holiday would shift focus from broader corporate tax reform. “Comprehensive reform can be done,” he writes. “We should not allow ourselves to be distracted from that goal.”

The top corporate tax rate is 35 percent. Company executives would like to see a repatriation holiday similar to the one Congress approved during the Bush administration that granted a 5.25 percent rate.